Grandmama’s cross-stitch

The dresses my grandmother and I wore in August 1985 were pink with white polka dots.

My Grandmama, Myrtle Stallings Riddick, used to make matching dresses for herself and me when I was a little girl. I really liked matching her, and appreciated her taking the time to make them for us. She was the only grandparent I knew. We would see Grandmama often, either by visiting her in Hobbsville, N.C., or when she came to stay with us in Suffolk, Va.

She taught me how to cross-stitch. We would work on some projects together. She cross-stitched a tablecloth for each grandchild’s wedding. Sadly, she was not alive when I, the last grandchild, got married in 2006. However, to my surprise, she had made one for me ahead of time before she died in 2001, at age 89. I think of her often and wish she could be here to see our growing family.